Manufacture of arch supporting shoes



Sept. 15, 1936. s. G. Ross ET Al.

MANUFACTURE OF ARCH SUPPORTING SHOE-S Filed Oct. 24, 193.3

Patented Sept. 15, 1936 UNITED STATESY Simon G. Ross and Charles T. Anderson, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 24, 1933, Serial No. 694,984

3 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of arch supporting shoes and it is particularly concerned with the problem of providing effective and lasting support for the inner longitudinal arch of the foot. l f

Numerous expedients have been adopted by shoe manfacturers to afford suitable support for the longitudinal or instep arch of the foot. For example, it has been customary to employ for this purpose so-called orthopedic insoles, i. e., insoles of the type in which a lateral extension o-r Wing is provided on the inside shank portion of the insole, the extension being designed to overlie the inside of the shoe upper beneath the instep of the foot and usually being pressed or molded against the side of the last in the process of making the shoe so that it will conform more or less closely to the foot. Such insole extensions, however, fail to retain their original shape and position in the shoe as the latter is worn but quickly break down under the weight and pressure of the foot and so become incapable of performing their intended function.

In View of the foregoing, the present invention, in one aspect, provides an improved method of making arch supporting shoes which, as herein exemplified consists in introducing an arch supporting piece between one side of a last and a shoe upper member on the last, Working the upper member over the last and thereby conforming the arch supporting piece to the side of the last, se-

curing marginal portions of the upper member l and the arch supporting piece in overlasted positions upon an insole on the last, and securing an outsole to the shoe by means of through-andthrough stitches extending through the upper member, the arch supporting piece, and the insole. The illustrated arch supporting saddle is composed of a piece of colloid-treated or pyroxylin-impregnated fabric such, for example, as cotton cloth coated or impregnated with nitrocellulose. As illustrated the saddle is arranged to underlie only that portion beneath the instep at the inside shank portion of the foot. Preferably the supporting piece or saddle is softened, as by means of a suitable solvent, for example acetone, prior to the assembly of the saddle with the other parts of the shoe, and the softened saddle is inserted between the upper and th'e lining after the latter have been pulled over the insole and secured in pulled-over position to the heel and toe portions of the insole and last. The upper and the lining are then lasted in the usual way and secured, in overlasted relation, to the insole.

' Thereafter an outsole is laid and, as herein illus- (cl. 1a-142) -trated, the outsole is secured to the shoe by means of through-and-through stitching which serves not only to unite the outer and inner soles and the overlasted margins of the upper and the lining but also firmly to secure the saddle to the bottom of the shoe. The saddle, being in a softened, semi-plastic, condition during the side lasting operation, will be conformed to the contour of the Y side of the last by the pressure applied thereto by the upper as the latter is stretched Vand tensioned over the l`last. Moreover, the softened pyroxylin or nitrocellulose will penetrate the upper and the lining and, on account of its adhesive character,

vas the solvent dries out it will firmly secure the saddle, the upper and the lining together. When dry the parts thus united will be stiff enough-toV retain the shape of the surface ofthe last against which they have been pressed while still being sufliciently yielding and elastic to accommodate the normal movements of the bones and muscles of the foot.' Y Other aspects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and will -be specificallyV pointed out inthe claims.

T he inventionwill now be explained with reference toI the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus such -as may be advantageously employed for the purpose of softening or conditioning an arch supporting saddle yprior to its assembly with the parts of a shoe; Y l Fig. 2 is a perspective View of an arch supporting shoe in the process of manufacture, illustrating particularly the appearance of the shoe after the upper has been pulled over the last and a softened arch supporting saddle has been introduced between the upper and theupper lining preparatory to the performance of the side lasting operation;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the shoe as it appears after the upper has been side lasted and its lower marginV secured in overlasted relation to the insole; and Y Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View of the completed ShOe. Y j

For the purpose of providing effective support for the longitudinal arch of a foot, the shoe illustrated in'Fig. 4 of the-drawing is provided with an arch supporting piece I of sheet material which is located between the upper I2 and the upper lining I4 at the'inside shank or waist portion of the shoe and-Which is shaped and arranged to underlie `and t` the hollow portion beneath the instep at the innery side ofthe foot, the support- 111g piece being securely attached to the shoeV in PNFIWFI OFFICE Y Ationof the foot.

such a manner asV to constitute a support in the nature of a saddle for ksustaining the instep por- The illustrated supporting piece or saddle I@ is located forwardly of the counter I6 and its lower marginal portion, together with the adjacent marginalportions of the Vupper and the'lining, are overlasted upon the insole I8 and are firmly 'attached to the insole and to the outsole i by means of stitches 22 which extend, through both soles and through the upper, the'V lining, and the saddle. Y As shown, the saddle It' Y is died out or otherwise cut to substantially the shape shown inFg. 2, having an upper edge 24 which is curved to facilitate insertion of piece between the upper and the lining and to adapt the piece to iit within the hollow inside instep portion of the foot, and a curved'lower edge 26 so shaped as to insure that the lower marginal portion of the supporting piece which is lasted Vover the insole shall be or" substantially Yuniform width to correspond tothe substantially uniform width of the adjacent overlasted portions of the upper and the lining. Preferably, the supporting piece is made of material .which is normally of sufficient stiffness to provide adequate support for the arch oi the foot but which is capable of being softened to facilitate the shaping or molding of the piece to the contour of the last in the process Y ing features of the` present invention, as exempli- Vby meansV of tacks 28.

of making the shoe, and which when softened will kbe of such a character as will serve adhesively fiedin the drawing, the insole I8 is first secured in place upon theV bottom of a last 30 and the upperY I2 having the lining I4 assembledl therewith is placed upon `the last, pulled over and secured at the toe and heel portions in the usual manner as The supporting piece or saddle I0 having been first softened'is introduced between the upper YI2 and the lining I4 at the inside shank portion of the shoe, as indicated in Fig. 2. porting piece may advantageously be introduced between the lining and the doubler. If, in accordance with the preferred practice, Vthe supportingppiece I0 is Ymade of colloid-treated fabric, a suitable softening of the adhesive stiffening Ymaterial may be effected by dipping thesupporting piece in acetone'or by subjecting it to the action of a machine such asthe conditioning machine disclosed in United StatesLetters Patent No. 1,895,524, grantedV January 31,1933, upon application ofV A. R. Schoenky. A portion of a conditioning machine, such as just referred to, is shown at 32 in Fig; 1. This figure alsol shows a supporting ypiece or saddle Ii)k which has been operated upon by the machine and which rests upon a delivery` table 3a ready'to be removedV by the operatorwho'is to assemble it withY the upper materials of the shoe.

After the supporting pieceor saddleV I0 hasbeen assembled with the pulled-over upper materials the latter are worked over theV last by means of such a machine, for example, as the side lasting machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,815,296, grantedV July 2l, i931, upon aprshown at 36 in Fig. 3.

the:

It has been found satisfactory to employ In case a doubler is employed the supplication of George Goddu. As a result of the side lasting operation as performed by that Ina-` chine, the upper materials are stretched tightly over the sides of the last and the margins of the upper materials, together with the margin of the supporting piece, are wiped inwardly over the insole I8 and iirmly secured in overwiped position on the insole by means of staples, one of which is On account of the softened condition of the supporting piece or saddle l2 the side'lasting operation results also in conforming or moldingV the saddle to the exact shape of the last. As the solvent in the supporting piece and in theY adjacent impregnated portions of the upper and the lining dries or evaporates the nitrocellulose orother stiiiening l edium hardens or stiffens and thus a laminated arch supporting struc# ture is provided in which the several plies or laminations are securely cemented together and are of such'stiffness as to retain the shape of the last imparted to themV during theworking and tensioning of the upper materials in the side lasting operation.y or saddle and the attached portions of the upper materials of tho shoe are thus shaped or molded on the shoe as by means of cement in a well` known manner. The shoe is then removed Afrom the last and the outsole attached by means of through-and-through stitching, such as that indicated at 22 in Fig. 4, the stitching extending through the outsole and the insole and through In this way'thel supporting piecey the overlasted marginal portions of the upper insole, the outsole and the upper materials. The

saddle being secured to both the upper and the lining kat the side of the shoe by means of the nitrocellulose or other adhesive stiffening matev rial with which it Yis impregnated, and being firmly held in kplace at the bottom of the shoe by the through-and-through stitching which also secures the outsole to the shoe, and also by means of the staples 36, the saddle will have no tendency to break down and 'become displaced under the strainsto which it is'subjected while the shoe is being worn but will retain its proper shape and location and continue efficiently to perform its arch supporting function throughout the life of the shoe. 1

-Whilev the saddle is herein shown as being located entirely in front of the counter it has in the saddle with its rear portion overlapping the outer side of the forward extremity ofY the counter, the saddle serving, in such cases, toY hold the forward portion of the counter in position to Y afford additional support for the arch of the foot. Y

Vsome instances been found desirable to arrange Itis considered undesirable, however, to have theV K counter overlie any substantial portion of the saddle since such an arrangementwould tend to interfere with the requisite molding of the sadldle to the shape of the last in the operation of side lasting the upper. If desired, however, the saddle may be formed as an integral forward extension of a premolded counter in which case the extending saddle portion only of the counter may be softened prior to its assembly with the upper and thereafter molded to the shape of the last in the perfomance of the side lasting operation.

The invention is not necessarily restricted to the provision of an arch supporting element at the inside shank portion only of a shoe since it is contemplated that an arch supporting member or saddle may be employed, if desired, at both sides of the shoe thereby producing what may be termed a corset type of shoe. Moreover, the arch supporting member or members may be assembled with the upper without having been previously softened. It may, for example, be found desirable to assemble an unsoftened saddle piece with the upper materials when the latter are assembled in the stitching room, the saddle piece being conveniently secured in place by means of the stitching which unites the vamp and the quarter. Later, after the upper has been pulled over, but before it has been side lasted, the saddle may be softened by solvent applied thereto by means of a brush.

While herein exemplified in its application to the manufacture of shoes having outsoles attached by through-and-through stitching, it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted thereto since, in various aspects, it is applicable also to shoes of other types such, for example, as welt shoes or shoes in which the outsole is attached by means of cement.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of making arch supporting shoes which consists in introducing an arch supporting piece between one side of a last and a shoe upper member on the last, working the upper member over the last and thereby conforming the arch supporting piece to the side of the last, securing marginal portions of said upper member and said arch supporting piece in overlasted positions upon an insole on the last, and securing an outsole to the shoe by means of through-and-through stitches extending through said upper member and said supporting piece and said insole.

2. That improvement in methods of making arch supporting shoes which consists in assembling an arch supporting piece between outer and inner members of a shoe upper on a last, conforming the upper and the arch supporting piece to the contour of the last, adhesively securing the arch supporting piece to both members of the upper at the side of the last, securing marginal portions of said upper members and said supporting piece in overlasted positions upon an insole on the last, laying an outsole, and permanently securing the outsole to the shoe by stitching extending through the outsole and through said upper members, said supporting piece, and said insole.

3. That improvement in methods of making arch supporting shoes which consists in assembling an insole, an upper, an upper lining, and a counter upon a last, pulling over the upper and the lining and securing them to they insole, softening a pyroxylin-impregnated saddle by a solvent and inserting the saddle between the upper and the lining in a location forward of the counter, working the upper and lining over the last thereby shaping the saddle to the last, securing the upper, the lining and the saddle in overlasted position upon the insole, allowing the shoe to remain upon the last until the pyroxylin has hardened thereby securing the saddle totheupper and the lining and causing the saddle to retain the shape of the last, laying an outsole, pulling the last, and securing together the insole, the outsole, and the overlasted margins of the upper, lining, counter and saddle by means of a line of through-and-through stitching.

SIMON G. ROSS. CHARLES T. ANDERSON. 

